Between longing and passion

In the Small Hall

Performers: VILIJA MIKŠTAITĖ (mezzo-soprano) MINDAUGAS ZIMKUS (tenor) PAULĖ GUDINAITĖ (piano)

Program: OTTORINO RESPIGHI: "Sunset" ("Il tramonto"), lyrics by R. Ascoli "Fog" ("Nebbie"), lyrics by A. Negri GABRIEL FAURÉ: "After a Dream" ("Après un rêve"), lyrics by R. Bussine "On the Shore" ("Au bord de l'eau"), lyrics by S. Prudhomme "Mandolin" ("Mandoline"), lyrics by P. Verlaine; FRANCIS POULENC – "Guitar" ("A sa guitare"), lyrics by P. de Ronsard ERMANNO WOLF-FERRARI – "Song" ("Rispetti"), op. 11 No. 3, folk lyrics Francesco paolo tosti: "Enchantment" ("Malìa"), lyrics by R. Pagliara "Secret" ("Segreto"), lyrics by O. Guerrini "I Love You No More" ("Non t’amo piu"), lyrics by C. Errico GEORGE ENESCU – songs from the cycle "Seven Songs of Clement Marot" ("Sept Chansons de Clement Marot"): "To the Lazy Ladies Who Do Not Write to Their Friends" ("Aux damoyselles paresseuses d'escrire à leurs amys") "You Make Me Languish" ("Languire me fais") "Let's Change the Subject, Enough of Singing About Love" ("Changeons propos, c'est trop chanté d'amours")

The concert program "Between Longing and Passion" invites listeners on a musical journey between two Western European cultures – France and Italy, connected by subtle poetry and music of wonderful beauty.

Featuring some of the most beautiful works of chamber vocal music, the program reveals a wide emotional world of the human being – from charming and fragile French melancholy to dramatic Italian passion, while the three performers – mezzo-soprano VILIJA MIKŠTAITĖ, tenor MINDAUGAS ZIMKUS, and pianist PAULĖ GUDINAITĖ create a colorful dialogue in which different vocal timbres, poetic texts, and harmonies created by the piano merge into a cohesive narrative about what has always been and remains close to the human heart: love, longing, and mystery.

Mezzo-soprano V. MIKŠTAITĖ is praised for her unique vocal characteristics and charisma. The soloist creates roles at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and in project productions, and has shone with her singing not only in Lithuania but also abroad.

Tenor M. ZIMKUS is a laureate of international competitions, a 2nd place winner of the LRT competition "Triumfo arka", a "Fortūna" diploma recipient, three times nominated for the Golden Stage Cross, and in 2009 was recognized as the best soloist of the Kaunas State Musical Theatre. Having studied solo singing at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA) in the class of Prof. Virgilijus Noreika, the singer has created more than twenty leading roles in various operas, and his repertoire includes not only opera, operetta, and musical genres, but also chamber vocal music and large-scale concert works.

Doctor of Arts, pianist P. GUDINAITĖ is a laureate of international competitions who graduated from the LMTA, where she obtained a Bachelor's degree in performance art in 2011 and a Master's degree in 2013 in the piano class of Prof. Petras Geniušas and the concertmaster class of Prof. Irena Uss-Armonienė, and in 2017, she defended her doctoral degree in music. She currently performs actively in various concert halls in Lithuania and abroad, and also teaches at the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art and the Kaunas J. Gruodis Conservatory. Chamber vocal music holds a special place in the pianist's repertoire.